This week I’m sharing with you a recipe that doesn’t truly stem from Italian tradition, but is a favorite from my childhood. Cornflakes were invented in the U.S. at the end of 1800, but weren’t imported to Europe until the 1950s. So, in other words, my great-grandmother was completely ignorant of cornflakes’ existence!

This recipe instead comes from a magazine my mother used to read in the past. She experimented on me and my brother with this “NEW COOKIE RECIPE,” and we have never thrown it away. It is a simply delicious recipe, perfect for breakfast or for a snack, it requires few ingredients, kids like it, and it is a different way to make “original” cookies.

So while I would say that CornFlake Cookies do not belong in the Italian Traditional Food category, they certainly belong with the recipes of my childhood food favorites. And to this day, I make them pretty often for my daughters, who love helping me prepare them by rolling the dough balls in the cereal.

INGREDIENTS for 30 cookies

8 oz (1 cup) all purpose flour – 150 gr. farina
5 tbs. melted unsalted butter – 60 gr. burro fuso
1 whole egg – 1 uovo intero
1 egg yolk – 1 tuorlo
4 oz (1/2 cup) sugar – 100 gr. zucchero
1 pinch baking powder – 1 pizzico lievito in polvere per dolci
1 pinch baking soda – 1 pizzico bicarbonato di sodio
about 1/2 cup raisins – 40 gr. uvetta
about 5 cups cornflakes – circa 150 gr. cornflakes
a few tbs. all purpose flour (if necessary for proper consistency)  – qualche cucchiaio farina per la lavorazione (se necessari)

DIRECTIONS

Soak the raisins in warm water for about 20 minutes and  sift the flour with the baking powder and baking soda.

Combine sugar and eggs with an electric whisk at least 3 minutes until looks creamy swells and clear.

Melt the butter in a separate bowl.

Add the flour to the sugar and eggs mix, stirring with a spoon and then incorporate the melted butter a little at a time while keep stirring.

You should get a soft but firm dough (if it is too liquid, add a tablespoon or two of flour).

Drain the raisins and dry with paper towels, sprinkle with flour and remove the excess of flour.

Combine the raisins in the dough and knead for 1 minute. Shape it into a ball, wrap in plastic wrap, and let rest in refrigerator for about 15 minutes.

Heat oven to 400 F (about 200 C) degrees.

Line the baking sheet with parchment paper. Divide the dough into balls the size of a hazelnut and then roll each ball into the cornflakes with light pressure.

Place them on the baking sheet, a reasonable distance apart, and cook for 15 minutes. Allow to cool and enjoy them.

LEARNT IT, MADE IT, LOVED IT!

Tips: –  These cookies could last a week, if stored in a tin or cookie jar.

          – If you like, you could add few tbs more raisins to give to the cookies a stronger flavor.

          – You could switch the raisins with chocolate drops, to make these cookies even more yummy.

         – Even if 30 cookies sounds like A LOT, once you have tried this recipe, I suggest you use double the quantities to obtain enough cookies to last more than one day!

I really hope you like this recipe, and please, if you do, share it, like it, and support my blog!

Much thanks,

Silvia